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it's 11:00 a.m. at ibm headquarters in new york, 11:00 a.m. on wall street and "squawk alley" is live good wednesday morning, welcome to "squawk alley" i'm carl quintanilla markets having another good day. record highs across the board. dow up 135, s&p 2561 on the back not just upgrades blue chip merck best day on a percentage basis and several years as a busy earnings season rolls on. >> and right now at this hour,

alibaba backed qudian largest provider in china making its debut here at the new york stock exchange stocks surging at the open this morning. up about almost 40%. up near 39%. for more we're joined by qudian founder and ceo min luo. congratulations. you own about 60% of the country, so that makes you a billionaire, i believe biggest listing in china i'm interested in the business you're in providing these small dollar amount loans for people we've seep this in the u.s. with companies, why is this so important for the chinese consumer right now >> thank you thank you for the question actually in china it's really different from the u.s., you know

u.s., the credit card very long, thousands of years in china it only lasts ten years. in china is a capitalist society. pay -- in china you don't need to take any money to outside so we are now actually -- we are number one credit card in china. so it's different stuff. >> what's a virtual credit card. >> means you don't need to give cash not take money, cash just to have an account. account just like you have a facebook account, whatever account is okay. you can transfer, buy. you can go shopping, take taxi anyway. >> so a big part of your success is going to be how much data you've got on the consumer and how creditworthy you can figure

out that consumer is as you've said, credit cards don't have a long legacy in china, just about a decade what are the data points you're going to use to make sure you're giving credit to the right consumers. >> yeah. actually personalized credit access for everyone. different people have different credit we start only from $1,000 on our average size, a person get credit, very small we get really big data for one day our transaction is over 1 million that means it -- several hundred,000 people will lend money back it's amazing data.

we make our data technology, risk model, it's really extremely low. no more than 5%. >> the consumers who are using its credit, what are they buying is it for big ticket is it for day to day go to dinner >> it's really interesting topic. account just like -- use to buy a tv, air condition, anything, to buy shoes almost everyone credit card. >> you're backed by alibaba financials, how involved is he and what's the relationship there as a shareholder. >> we have a very good relationship ali pays -- it's equal system,

consumer finance company, technology company and ali system, they are doing really amazing things just like the stock changed before do not sell things ecosystem. >> 1,000 r&b, $50,000, people trying to understand the amount people start off borrowing from you guys before you started this company, you were vice president of marketing at okay buy, which sells just ordinary consumer goods. what did you see from that position working in ecommerce trying to sell things that led to you this company and the importance of this idea. >> it's really important okay, i already have three times entrepreneur experience. actually i founded qudian three

and a half years before but i and my team already have 12 years of experience of entrepreneur our team is young but really experienced. i find my first company in 2005. it's just like facebook in china. but unfortunately, it's old, it's gone. >> a little more like myspace. >> we got the opportunity and we find big potential market, consumer finance market. >> in '05 you would have been 22, right, something like that >> yeah, 22. and now our average age is 26. young people, young guys they are exciting. they want to really do something different. >> the 19th congress is going on right now in china from the people's party is there anything to -- any

reason to think this rising consumption rate in china will not continue to fuel the economic growth as they try to transition this economy? i think it's still less than 40% but moving up fast >> sorry -- >> chinese consumption growth, is that going to continue to power chinese economy to growth rates of 6 and 7%. >> china consumption growth in the future, it's really amazing market just now i have told you in china, the real credit card people only about 200 million. but it's around 1,000 a minute so really great potential. >> do you have any hopes to expand to north america, u.s., or can you focus on china only >> i have been asked several

times to have lots of meetings, around 200 meetings for investors in new york, boston, san francisco, chicago it's really nice actually, we may we make come outside of china, but not now. >> right i guess if you're only 20% penetrated in your home market you've got a long runway ahead and a debut here on the new york stock exchange, stock up 40% the company is qudian and ceo min luo joining us first on "squawk alley. thank you, appreciate it. >> thank you, guys. >> many time busy market day, intraday highs this morning of course after the dow hit 23 k in yesterday's session. we're joined by schreiber, wells fargo strategist brian jacobson. guys, good morning to both of you.

brian, the other story of the morning is the treasury secretary saying if tax reform doesn't happen the market would pay a price for that, which led taos a discussion all morning long of how much that's baked in, how much of this melt up has been based on investor hopes about taxes. what's the answer? >> well, i'm not sure what the exact answer is, it's always hard to determine the probabilities. i would say markets are pricing in a high probability that will get some form of tax reform in the next six months or so. my friends at wells fargo investment institute say it will probably happen in the first quarter of 2018. i think that's reasonable. i think the republican controlled congress is really going to try to push to get something done, or at least make it look like something is done before they go home foring that break. that's probably one of the reason we've seen small cap stocks play catchup here over the last month or so, is those are the ones that tend to be more highly taxed than large cap

stocks i think people are beginning to play the probabilities here. it's suggesting that tax reform looks like it's going to get done if it doesn't, maybe small caps are the most vulnerable to that. >> we've heard both sides of this one theory all year long at the minimum, the potential for a package has frozen sellers in place who obviously would want to wait to sell to see if they pay a lower tax on the gains where are you on this issue? >> i think if we don't get tax reform the market is in trouble. most of the action we're seeing isn't based on earnings. we had earnings expectations june 30th, almost 8% growth rate now they are down at 3%. i think the action in the market is really looking forward to anticipating the significant boost to gdp and profits that the tax package would get. i think if it goes, by the way, similar to the obamacare killing legislation or tax package gets

in trouble, that the market consensus could shift and we're really in trouble from a price standpoint markets are very overvalued here we think they are at all-time highs. we've got this huge crowd to trade on the passive side. the whole market is looking pretty pricey to us. i think you've got to stick with it because the trend certainly is higher. i think if we do get tax package in any form that it looks like here especially the corporate taxes, that the market is really going to get a boost even a significant greater boost than what we've seen. >> brian, trying to figure out this puzzle as to how much of tax reform is priced in and how vulnerable the market is you say there's a significant likelihood what about global economic growth, which is all picking up in a coordinated way for the first time since 2010. what about the fact interest rates barely budged, even as the federal reserve raises rates we've got liquidity flowing from

all central bankers in the world. what about the fact earnings are actually set to improve and we're finally seeing revenue growth do you put tax reform as driver of this market above all factors. >> no. >> that was for brian. i know, brian, you say -- >> i don't place it as a driver. in fact, i disagree with the other guest. i think fundamentals are marrying here. people understand that current quarter earnings are affected by one off effects from hurricane harvey, hurricane irma what ram matters is the next 12 months if you look at expectations they continue to point toward earnings for s&p 500, emerging markets close to 16% so the fundamentals are primary driver but tax reform is a contributor. i think that's a key thing it's never just about one variable it's about multiple variables. we have a number of things working for us

fundamentals continuing to improve despite slowdown in growth, it's still growth as far as in the u.s. economy global economy synchronized growth stories continuing on if you get tax reform, that's almost like gravy on top. >> don, really interested in this binary outcome you set up it sounds like you say if tax changes pass, the market runs higher if not, it's overvalued. given that and the risk it might not pass, what should investors do right now >> i think you have to start looking for ways to hedge your bet, you know. either raise some cash going into the december months when we might get an impression on whether or not tax reform is going to pass, or hedge. so i think people have made a lot of money with this rally i think that giving it back, if the markets do change, the tone of the market changes and we get a negative trend is really a bad idea protecting capital is the most important thing investors can do

to achieve their long-term objectives i think that earnings get tougher in terms of if beating because they will be compared against rising earnings we cause in q4 of last year and on in this year. so i think the beats and the estimates get much tougher going forward. >> all those other positive factors, don, like growth and easy central bank policy, you don't think that's having -- >> i think the central bank policies have worked really well i think the efficacy, the power of the central bank programs are starting to be called in question you know, the fed is an example. youknow, expect that wages and prices would rise, inflation would rise based on high unemployment you know, they have indicated they don't quite understand why the linkage isn't there that has historically been there. that is really a big concern we have the same thing going on with europe with mario draghi. they are starting to call into question how long they can stick

with this program, negative interest rates and quantitative easing that's what's driving the growth in europe. while we do have growth, the und und underpinnings of it are questionable. >> we have to wait for the outcome of those questions appreciate your time good to see you both when we come back alexa meets kohl's a big day for big blue, nice action on ibm. details on that coming up. twitter rolls out new rules to crack down on harassment across the platform when "squawk alley" comes back i'll have the langoustine lobster ravioli. for you, sir? the original call was for langoustine ravioli. a langoustine is a tiny kind of lobster. a slight shellfish allergy rules that out, plus my wife ordered the langoustine. i will have chicken tenders and tater tots. if you're a ref, you way over-explain things. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance

you switch to geico. sir, we don't have tater tots. it's what you do. i will have nachos!

shares of ibm up 9.5% after expectations for recent quarter thanks to gains in hardware, cloud and ai arenas. here is martin sloater. >> we have a hot hand in security, iot space. >> ibm reported second quarter of declining revenue but revenue isn't the only measure they still beat on the top line, beat expectations. the profit looking strong. cash flow, free cash flow also looking pretty strong at 2.5

billion, the rate that's up 100 million from a year ago, forecasting that will stay steady throughout the year there's hope that perhaps the story on ibm is changing but this is a difficult company. it was a giant of the first data center era, and now keeps going through these changes, partnership with apple big deal beauty that tim cook and jimmy ramedi sitting down. >> good, a boost for earnings because we're talking about it, the tax rate, effectivn't hurt also currencies provided a little bit of a tail wind this time that doesn't hurt either but poem line is, are they really gaining traction in cloud and ai

they have been telling the story with watson longer than anybody but they haven't surged ahead in that reign you look at numbers like this with the stock up like it is, you wonder if that's changed highs for the stock for the year above $180 per share 160 is nice but still has a ways to go if it's going to hit that. >> jim said this morning, worst quarter is in the pooks. gets better from here on out the ibm story is back on the reignition of earnings when we return kohl's cutting ribbon on alexa departments across the country." we'll talk to only investing in companies run by women we'll be back in a minute.

. amazon and kohl's rolling out their first phase of the joint ventureship, partnership in ten stores today.

courtney reagan back at hq how does this work >> today ten kohl's stores in l.a. and chicago areas launching amazon products and services 72 more stores will roll out in the months to come kohl's employees will pack up and ship back your returnable amazon fulfilled orders for free it happens just inside the front door they are even dedicated parking spots for those making amazon returns. now, the returns is located inside the amazon connected home experience there amazon employees will demonstrate how an alexa enabled device can do things like turn on the lights. michelle gas who will take over the ceo job in may is spearheading these amazon strategies >> we think it's a tremendous convenience for the customer there's no other experience like this anywhere. so engaging with the customer, it provides a new way for existing or new customer to have that touch point with kohl's

then surely they are making a trip inside the store. we hope that they take advantage of being in the store and checking out all the amazing products that we offer. >> so there's no obvious downside for amazon, but risking consumers use the returns or home demonstrations but not actually buy anything from kohl's >> the industry is going through such change. i think we all have to think really differently and i think amazon and kohl's bring tremendous complimentary strengths together and as we maybe come out the other side of the retail transformation, as we sit here today, there's going to be plenty of room for everyone. >> they are at least betting there is room for kohl's in the future she which was the partnership as courageous and unexpected. she says there is still a lot to learn. kohl's isn't disclosing estimates for traffic or sales lift they are hoping to get from this but clearly that is part of the strategy back over to you guys.

>> john is always skeptical but courtney, we were discussing, it doesn't make sense is kohl's effectively becoming a warehouse for amazon here? >> not necessarily kohl's is doing what you can do for your self quite frankly when it comes to returning something from amazon. if you've ordered something from amazon, amazon filled, returnable, you can basically print off the label and pack it up and ship it back your self, right? kohl's is trying to make that pain point easier for you. hey, don't worry about packing it up, we'll do it for you of course, they are hoping they make it so easy now you've got extra time so shop around the store and look around. it's a risk, right we asked about what the possible risks were she said, look, we have a lot to learn but we have to be innovative we thought this was something courageous and we're going to give it a try. >> hopefully it's not enjoy your last trip to kohl's experience you signed up for the prime membership because you get the echo and that's it you come back for returns. courtney reagan, thanks.

>> thanks. >> speaking of amazon and warehouses the ecommerce giant shaking up real estate market with increasing demand in areas. red prices entering record highs. "wall street journal" with answer articlee commercial spreads to warehouse market. focused on warehouses and logistics, company out with third quarter earnings yesterday. welcome. so tell me, the rents are spiking. you've got all of this space in urban areas, including the bronx not too far from here. what does this signal? what comes next? is there more space that's going to be bought up in these markets that you're looking to buy because right now there's not enough supply to satisfy demand? >> sure. good morning, john those are all really good questions and really nobody

knows the final answer there is a lot of experimentation going on one thing is for sure, affluent customers need to be able to get their goods that they order through e-commerce there are facilities needed in urban core areas and that kind of real estate doesn't really exist. it has to be redeveloped based on what's there or what's there needs to be demolished and you need to start all over again so we are taking advantage of this trend we are experimenting we're building mumlti-story warehouses in places like seattle and san francisco. we are redeveloping multi-store warehouses in the bronx. all of this is to get closer to the affluent customer that needs their e-commerce orders immediately and they want a wide selection. so that inventory needs to get placed close to the customer. >> how closely do you work with a company like amazon as you're making plans to understand their

needs and next moves to what degree are they looking to compete with you, design these themselves and possibly own the space. >> that's, of course, always the possibility. i think the leadership of amazon is way too smart to do that. they are in a much better business the market at least thinks their business deserves a much higher multiple than our business so to the extent that they use their capital to buy real estate, that's not really why the market is rewarding them with the multiple that they are. so i don't think they are going to do that but we are going ahead of our customers, not just amazon, but other important customers like ups, fedex, and many others, alibaba, jd.com. really the equation is about finding the right piece of land in the middle of a dense affluent population center a anding with able to build a

product that's effective and efficient for these guys to distribute their goods to final customers. again, as i said, nobody knows the final answer there's a lot of experimentation going on, including the story you just reported on with kohl's, on the reverse logistics, which is an important problem. >> how seriously are you taking the drone market i suppose, chances are, if that takes off as a way to deliver packages to consumers, they are going to be taking off from the roofs of some of your facilities is that something you're actively planning on or are there factors that will keep that from happening any time soon that perhaps the market isn't taking into account? >> well, there is whaegs happening now and what we can peck late about. to the extent drones or any other technology is used to deliver goods in the last mile or last three miles distance, i think that's going to be the primary use of drones. i don't think other than remote locations like delivering medicine in africa you're going

to have drones flying a warehouse 200 miles to get to somebody's location. i think it's more of a last mile or last touch solution when it's ultimately implemented but there are lots of legal and other considerations i think that technology is the easy part. i think the other constraints are the more difficult parts at the end of the day, we're in a simple business. all we've got to do is own the facilities that are close to dense pockets of affluent population, because whether it's a drone, an uber vehicle, or ups truck, at the end of the day it's all about being close to those customers. the mode of delivery is less important than the location and the efficiency of that facility. >> the $30 billion market cap, it can't be too simple we appreciate you sharing your expertise with us. thank you amid. let's get to seema mody.

>> on a day where hitting record highs germany is falling suit on what is mostly, mostly a green session for europe germany dax closing at a record high well above 13,000, 13,037, that's a high. getting a lift on companies that rely on exports. euro has been a bit weeker for most of today's session. take a look at the chart euro off its lows of the day the pound also falling to a six-day low with data showing higher than expected uk wages for august, still lagging behind inflation. that is certainly a concern for the governor let's switch to earnings, "r "reckit announcing it will spotlight into consumer care and home and hygiene to revive sales although stock is down 2 1/2%.

more earnings to get to, german fashion retailer, a sharp drop as it feels pain from amazon two dutch companies in place semiconductor firm asml falling despite posting 30% jump in third quarter net profit and akzo nobel, 13% decline, citing industry head winds and unfavorable 4x conditions, stock down 2%. one day left for catalonia to meet a spanish government deadline for declaring independence, prime minister today urging the region's president to act sensibly and call off a bid for secession catalonia risks losing autonomy if it doesn't do so. meantime we're keeping an eye on the spanish index, equity index, seeing a bit of volatility over the course of one week still lower by .6% for the month higher in today's trade.

i'll point out china's third quarter gdp number, guys, that will also be for global investors that's due tonight. >> thank you for that. seema mody we want a news update, for that we'll turn to sue herrera. good morning, sue. >> good morning, carl, good morning, everyone. here is what's happening this hour president xi jinping opening party congress with a pledge to build modern socialist country for new era but also a rare acknowledgement of that country's economic problems. it will culminate with the selection of a new standing committee to rule china for the next five years. the head of amazon studio is stepping down following sexual harassment allegations roy price was put on a leave of absence last week after reports surfaced he sexually harassed an amazon tv producer nike made its debut as official outfitter of nba last night but there was a bit of a wardrobe malfunction. lebron james new jersey tore right down the middle after physical play with celtics

defender it's at least the second nike jersey to tear this year during game play. neiman marcus out with gift catalog filled with iconic items. on the list of things you didn't know you really wanted, $1.6 private new year's eve bash for you and 300 of your closest friends. a $60,000 spa experience, and a dream dollhouse with an $8,000 price tag. that's the news update this hour let's get back to "squawk alley. john, i think i'm sending it back downtown to you. >> all right and a pony. >> and a pony. absolutely always a popey under the tree. >> when we come back why one says she's only investing in countries run by women. tatoplus rolling out features ckle hate and harassment on the platform we'll break it all down when "squawk alley" returns we make it easier to plan for retirement

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companies sometimes struggle for funding in silicon valley. one venture capitalist is looking to change that jesse draper founding partner of halogen ventures which focuses on funding for female startup. her father ken draper very familiar to cnbc viewers she joins us from l.a. good to see you. >> thank you thank you. thanks for having me. >> for me this is a no-brainer because everything we read in terms of research show that female startups perform better

don't take my word for it, first round found companies with female founder performed 63% better than than all male founded. >> absolutely. >> why isn't the money going there? >> i think there's so many reasons. great question i think, one, it's the access to capital. i think that's something we really try to help with at halogen. it's the access to capital because men control the majority of the capital, they are investing in men so really what the goal is for this fund is we hope to create those female billionaires of the future and get them to that level, then the data is there that these women will invest that back into the ecosystem. you have a woman like cindy whitehead who told pharmaceutical drug for $1.5 billion and now she's investing all of that into women she's absolutely incredible. you have so many amazing females, alexa sole $250 million

to northwestern mutual bank. we're seeing such incredible female-run companies, i just thought, why not bet on them. >> so how much money are you -- how much money have you raised and what kind of diversity of companies are you looking at it was interesting you just mentioned an example that was actually in the banking business there is a stereotype that the female startups are all in fashion or makeup. >> yes we do everything from e-commerce all the way to health care you know, we have the breast pump company, first fda approved smart pump we have flex, menstrual disk we have quite a few marketplaces i see fintech, crypto currency so we're all across the board and i don't think people should pigeonhole women into fashion and beauty that said, those are multi-billion dollar markets, so why wouldn't you invest in

those. you look at l'oreal is buying up things left and right. i think there's a lot of opportunity there. so we're all across the board. we have a really, really diverse portfolio, and we do do light software but pretty much focused on consumer technology. >> jesse, i don't mean to bring your dad's name up, but he's so well-known, i wondered if he had some thoughts on the female strategy >> well, he loves women and he has supported them i have to say if you look at the dfj and draper associates portfolios in comparison to a lot of the sandhill road guys, who i also love, they have almost 40% female founded companies. so that's really enormous. i think that's -- he's always been incredibly supportive of women. i am a fourth generation investor and the first female so you can see why i'm very focused on this problem because i grew up around all these incredible men in suits

my grandfather has been very supportive of women as well. he has done so much, run umdp, export import bank under bush and reagan so he was doing tons of international support for women. so i feel like my family is very, very supportive of women, which is like refreshing to see, especially with all this horrible sexual harassment going on in silicon valley. >> jesse, what's it going to take to get more female investors to also invest in lots of different kinds of companies. you mentioned, of course, the women with these companies you're investing in will turn around and invest. beyond that, how do we get more female vcs >> i would love more female vcs. there are a handful of us truly. we all know each other and we all work together very closely i think women need to realize that finance is a huge business and opportunity and don't be afraid to talk about money

i think it starts with education. you know, if you kind of take it back, women typically weren't in charge of the checkbooks now there's all these statistics around, 80% of purchasing decisions made by women in households so they are pretty important when it comes to finance in general, especially when it comes to buying, which is why we're definitely focused on consumer tech. 60% of our companies are female focused, 40% are, you know, have no gender sort of bias whatsoever. >> jesse. >> sorry >> i just in the 30 seconds we have left, i wanted to get your thoughts, you alluded to sexual harassment allegations, the harvey weinstein story, the me too hashtag has gone viral across twitter, nudity, unwanted sexual advances. i wanted a quick take from you, someone who is out there, what

you're hearing and how maybe putting more money into these women companies could be a fix. >> i think giving women access to capital especially at the early stages is definitely helpful for this problem, because inevitably these companies will be more gender fair and there will be a lot more female employees, which kind of levels out the playing field. as far as the metoo and new twitter rules, et cetera, twitter rules blew my mind i was like, wait, there wasn't a rule about taking pictures up someone's skirt when they west nile looking and posting it on twitter, i didn't know that was okay until today i'm happy that's now a rule. i'm glad jack dorsey has really buckled down there the me too campaign has been really powerful and people are realizing, wow, this sexual harassment is in every industry.

it's interesting a couple months ago all this came out in silicon valley and now we're dealing with hollywood i hope more and more stories come out in the most positive way just to end the sexual harassment opportunity i'm really happening alyssa milano started this campaign i just came from marie claire conference last couple days where a lot of incredible actresses and business women were discussing this and partaking. i mean, it's an important campaign who knew i think over a million women tweeted metoo and 300,000 men. >> yeah, i know. it's pretty powerful jesse, thank you for your thoughts on that and some of your new ventures. jesse draper guys, i think it's going to be very hard for them, twitter, in particular, to police this unwanted sexual harassment and nudity but we'll see a good step i guess. >> yes town square as they said when we come back, the future of

alexa may be in phone calls. watching markets, dow on pace for monthly gains in february. rick santelli, what are you watching >> i'm watching the markets and thinking about treasury secretary mnuchin policy in the markets. a question, how much is built in i have another question. you'll hear it after the break my ambition? helping people get what they want, understanding we're not in this alone, and teaching my kids that no ambition's out of reach. ambitions live everywhere. synchrony financial helps make them happen with data, insights, financing and technologies. ♪ ♪ synchrony financial. what are you working forward to?

coming back from break a bit early, the president is going to meet with members of the senate finance committee. this is some tape shot a few moments ago. >> want to welcome members of the senate finance committee to the white house. especially i'd like to thank committee chairman orrin hatch thank you, orrin and ranking member ron widen thank you. we're here to discuss our plans to deliver historic tax cuts to

american families. businesses, workers. it will be the largest tax cut in the history of our country. here is some of the highlights from our framework we are doubling the amount of income that is taxed at the zero bracket. in other words, the zero bracket, many people will be able to take advantage of that bracket that are not in that bracket. we're increasing the child tax credit we will end the estate tax sometimes referred to as the death tax. we will cut the business tax rate from the highest in the developed world at 35% to no more than 20%. according to the council of economic advisers, reducing the corporate tax rate from 35 to 20% would increase average household income by $4,000 a year so each household on average would take in $4,000 and they will spend that money and that will be great for the economy.

we're cutting taxes on small businesses to the lowest rate in more than 80 years for 30 million americans who own small businesses, it will be a 40% tax cut. they will thrive and they will expand and they will be happy. for at least the next five the s businesses and manufacturers will be able to expense the full value of new equipment in the year in which they buy it, something which nobody even thought in terms of and something which will have i think one of the biggest impacts on our economy we will impose a one-time low tax on trillions of dollars of wealth parked overseas to encourage companies to bring back those profits and bring them back home and spend the money at home where it belongs right now they can't bring the money back in because of bureaucratic problems, because of certain legislation, and most importantly because the tax rate is so high that only a very foolish company head would bring the money back in. i think the numbers could even

hit the $4 trillion mark people have been saying 3 at any time 5 trillion for many years, but we know now it's much higher than that. the vast majority of americans will be able to file their taxes on a single sheet of paper because not only will these be massive tax cuts, but these will be a big simplification. it's going to be a very big simplification so it's really tax cuts and reform, but i focus on tax cuts because it's such an important weapon to get our country really moving. so we'll go from being one of the highest taxed nations in the world to one of the lowest taxed meaning more jobs, higher wages and more products stamped with the words made in the usa. this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, in my opinion this is something that will be really unique. the timing is right. i have had people on both sides,

and i promised not to mention the people on the other sides or names, but a lot of people are liking this very much, and i think we'll have tremendous support. we're going to restore america's competitive edge, rebuild america's middle class, very much aimed at the middle class, and renew the promise of the american dream we're going to have companies pouring back into our country instead of leaving our country we're not going to have them leave and fire everybody and make products and sell them back into our country totally untaxed. all we do is end up with lots of people without jobs and no product. it's not going to happen anymore. so i just want to thank everybody for being here it's a great honor we're going to have a great discussion today, and i'm sure we'll have unanimous support i have no doubt, right, right, ron, i think, right? so thank you very much, everybody. appreciate it. thank you. >> where do you stand on the health care bill >> mr. president --

>> i didn't say what that congresswoman said she knows it and she now is not saying it. i did not say what she said, and i'd like her to make the statement again because i did not say what she said. i had a very nice conversation with a woman, who a wife who sounded like a lovely woman. did not say what the congresswoman said, and most people aren't too surprised to hear that. >> inaudible question ]. >> let her make her statement again, and then you'll find out. let her make her statement again and then you'll find out >> thank you, thank you. >> [ all talking at once ] >> we'll see the bipartisan. we'll see the bipartisan, and lamar alexander is working on it very hard from our side, and if something can happen, that's fine, but i won't do anything to enrich the insurance companies because right now the insurance companies are being enrich they have been enriched by

obamacare like nothing anybody has ever seen before i am not going to do anything to enrich the insurance companies okay thank you very much, everybody thank you. thank you very much. >> that is the president meeting with members of the senate finance committee, addressing a few different topics there, the last one about alexander murray which some have said his position has been cloudy on that the past 24 hours. briefly responded to the allegations about a call he made to a mother of a deceased u.s. soldier but really, eamon javers, the point of the meeting is to talk about taxes didn't get a whole lot of new information even as the treasury secretary today has said things hard to cut taxes across the board without cutting taxes on the wealthy. >> reporter: yeah, that's right, right. the white house is now acknowledging that that will be inevitable ultimately because the wealthy do pay the lion's share of taxes in this country so this is a white house convening this meeting it's a bipartisan meeting. you saw some democrats in the room not all the democrats on the committee were invited to this meeting. i'm told by the white house that

they invited democrat who they thought they might be able to work with but not all of them so about half the democrats on the committee were in the room for this meeting no specific agenda here, i'm told no particular talking points or issues they want to work through. this is more of a general listening session designed to have the president have the opportunity to express where he thinks tax reform ought to go this year. the white house is still saying that getting tax reform done is a goal for this year, but they are not saying it definitely has to be done this year they are saying they are realistic about the prospects of getting it done this year given that the legislative calendar is getting shorter and shorter. already is the middle of october and they don't have an actual bill yet in place, so the goal here to get it done this year, but the white house acknowledging it might slip until 2018, carl. >> all right we'll see where this goes. eamon, thanks very much for that recap of the president and his meeting with the senate finance committee. keeping an eye on markets here the dow and the s&p are both positive any higher close would be a record financials leading the charge,

ibm leading the dow. nasdaq holding its gains we'll right back on "squawk alley. and, how's it looking? >>i don't know. there's so many opinions out there, it's hard to make sense of it all. well, victor, do you have something for him? >>check this out. td ameritrade aggregates thousands of earnings estimates into a single data point. that way you can keep your eyes on the big picture. >>huh. feel better? >>much better. yeah, me too. wow, you really did a number on this thing. >>sorry about that. that's alright. i got a box of 'em. thousands of opinions. one estimate. the earnings tool from td ameritrade.

big story of the morning has been the openio that opened for trade other hat the nyc with a nice gain and a bit of an intraday reversal as it comes off. not going to match some of the other performers like roku.

>> and they still almost raised $1 billion you can literally take that to the bank and market they are playing in so interesting, the ceo telling us that credit cards only have been really around in china for about a decade and so these types of loans, people using these virtual cards from quidian to track e-commerce to be really important. only 20% penetrated in the market. >> videoual credit cards takes it straight to bitcoin carl and i were talking, it's actually taking a tumble today a cfc report out this morning saying they have jurisdiction over bitcoin like a commodity as a virtual currency this was always going to be where bitcoin, the price ran into challenges around regulation when you these regulators out locking at it, writing reports, seeing how they can get in on it, there you go you see the reaction, though it's off the lows. it was down 9% earlier. >> nvidia down a percent as well despite, you know, jim always says ignore the correlation, but

they do tend to trade together it's not just jamie dimon and larry fink with comments about it bernanke and other bankers have had thoughts about when regulation hits, countries try to protect their own currencies. >> absolutely. no one has called it for a fraud except for jamie dimon and that's considered very bullish. >> dow up 134. let get to "the half" back at hq and welcome to "the halftime report." i'm scott wapner our top trade this hour, taxes or else. the big market warning from the treasury secretary on what could happen to stocks in the president's agenda comes up empty. with us for the hour today, steve weiss, dave leven,hal, michael farr, founder of farr, miller and washington. let's begin with the markets, the dow surging thanks in mart to